Chapter 16 - Derek and Emily
Emily separated from Derek three weeks after the cabin incident.
Not because I demanded it.
I specifically did not.
She had two children.
Eleven years of marriage.
A house.
Her own relationship to untangle.
Derek asked her:
“Are you really leaving me over your father’s vacation house?”
That sentence ended something.
Emily told me later.
I said nothing.
She continued:
“I asked him if Mom signed the deed.”
“What did he say?”
“He said Mom would’ve wanted me to have it.”
Not an answer.
Emily asked again.
“Did my mother sign it?”
Derek cried.
Then:
“No.”
There.
Not formal evidence initially.
Spousal communications raised legal questions.
Emily told her lawyer.
Then investigators handled what was usable.
Emotionally, it was enough.
Emily said:
“He keeps saying he did it for us.”
I looked at her.
“Do you believe that?”
“Yes.”
That surprised her.
I continued:
“He probably did want to save the business and protect your household.”
She stared.
“Dad.”
“Doing something for family does not make the method family’s responsibility.”
She started crying.
Derek’s motive could include love.
May you like
His conduct could still be criminal.
People become dangerous when they think good motives issue legal authority.
